Souled, by author Jennifer Gladen, was a delight to read!
It has a tight plot, is well-written and is a super-quick read. I had to pause reading when my Kindle ran out of battery (and that in a nutshell is why I will always love / prefer physical books!), but it was a pretty-solid two-night read. It will appeal to the young gamers in your family or classroom. It's a high-interest premise (getting lost in a video game called Seeker) with a subtle message, but it's deftly handled. There's a light crush, but nothing inappropriate for middle grade.
The story revolves around a 7th grade boy, Ethan, who gets a new immersive game controller. He discovers the man who owns the company that makes the controller has nefarious plans for stealing the souls of the players and merging the digital and real worlds under his control.
Each time I thought the book was wrapping up, that things couldn't get worse for Ethan, the author stepped it up a notch and gave him yet another challenge to face -- very much like the levels on a video game. There was a plot twist I didn't see coming (and that's kinda rare, for me) and I appreciated how the team had to come together at the end to defeat the villain, Nith.
This was a wonderful, fun read. Very well done. Enjoy. I'm hoping there's a sequel!
